Thiefcat's Guide to Lvl 20 Avatar Fights.Follow

I think you're right, but how do I do that? Most of the time in these fights, the avatar opens with a BP immediately, and my first SL happens shortly after that (2 or 3 seconds).

I'll watch Azzam's videos again to see if I can get some pointers, but any more advice from you would also be very welcome. How do I beat the avatar to the draw? Thanks.

If you are going to watch any of Azzam's videos, pay close attention to his Garuda one, I found that one to be the most helpful one he did...

Regarding the beating-the-avatar-to-the-draw thing, I suggest mashing your Searing Light macro as soon as you summon your second Carby. You should get the shot off before the avatar uses a BP, at which time you may or may not get caught in Astral Flow crossfire halfway up the bend (if that happens it's a good sign, believe it or not)

Hey, no problem man, we're all in this together, are we not?

You can buy ethers in the duty-free store in jeuno for around 5k. Oh, and I found that Aquaveil was really useful when I was trying to get Carby out with an avatar beating on me (that and Hermit's Wand, and maybe a Heko Obi +1). And definitely try to fight him on Earthday (his weak day).

Hope this helps, good luck!

MJ

Edited, Mon May 15 10:28:55 2006 by midnightjade

Just get Fame 3 (2 in Norg, methinks) to be on the safe side regardless of whether or not you need 2 or 3...

This is an excellent guide. Started mini battle yesterday - currently:

1/1 Ifrit - piece of cake, didn't use food and not even close to dying. Was 1 second off the record too.

1/2 Shiva - Took too much hate and got killed on the third searing light. Second fight much easier, even broke record on the server.

1/2 Ramuh - forgot to take Yagudo drink (was my first fight) and Thunderspark connected badly. Second fight was close as I stupidly took Yagudo drink before entering (wrong macro). Did his thunderspark but popped a remedy then cast carbuncle, rest is history.

1/4 Titan - Earthern Ward is a royal pain in the ass. Had to change tactics on this one but finally got him.

1/1 Leviathan - not much to say really. I came, I saw, and I kicked his ass.

1/1 Garuda - not much to say, came close at one point but all ended well.

But yeah this method is great, just gotta remember not to PANIC as I did with the ones I lost. Take it easy and be well equipped - you'll be fine. Rate uP!

Edited, Tue Jun 6 02:37:43 2006 by RogalDorn

Edited, Tue Jun 6 02:40:33 2006 by RogalDorn

Edited, Jun 29th 2006 at 6:51pm EDT by RogalDorn

Just wanted to say this was a great guide! I dinged SMN 20 last night duoing with a BST buddy and couldnt wait to try a mini. Got all the suggested equipment/foods and accidentally bought Hi-Ethers. Decided to try Titan first as I heard he was the easiest. Went in on lightsday. Overall the battle went smoothly for my first attempt. Got a little to close to the "crack" and got agro before I could summon Carby. Kept getting interrupted as Titan meleed me but kept my cool. Finally got Carby out, first Searing Light got a partial resist (100ish damage) but the next two went off for full damage. No need to banish or melee at end. 1/1 on Titan. Dont know who to go after next. Suggestions?

There was a note added to the main guide that said Azzam took the vids down... if anyone's looking for videos youtube.com has some videos of a girl doing a few of the avatars (most notably shiva and ramuh).

This is a great guide! Should be stickied >_>

This is an absolutely great post.. <rate up> ^^

But I have one question that may perhaps clarify this 3 searing light method.
- How can you use "Searing Light" three times if "Astral Flow" is your 2hr?
So wouldn't it take 2hr's to recast. Hmmm... I'm confused. Can someone please shed some light on this for me. ^^

Thank you.

This has been said before but...

DON'T USE HI-ETHER!!

I don't care if you can't find Ethers, just wait until you can. I tried to fight Ifrit today using Hi-Ether and it was a disaster.. they take an ungodly amount of time to activate.

Trying to beat the avatar using Hi-Ether is signing your own death sentence.

I am not sure, but I think that a Hi-Ether comes with a short medicated effect (like the Icarus Wing, which you can only use one in a given period of time) which is why it's unpopular.
At least Ether prices in NPC-markets don't fluctuate, though.

So my first three runs were a bust against Leviathan, Shiva, and Garuda. I think the main thing was not distancing myself enough and/or not keeping my hp high enough.

Next three runs were smooth, and managed to get those 3 avatars without much issue.

Tried Ramuh after that, and he's giving me some trouble. First fight he paralyzed me right before second searing light, and I was unable to pull it off. Second fight I was smarter, and survived a long time despite getting hit with his 2 hour and 3 thundersparks. Carby got all 3 searing lights off, but one was resisted, so it left me fighting him alone with my staff with no mp. Needless to say, I died just before I could finish him off because of some unlucky crits he gave me. Stupid old man.

Edited, Jul 24th 2006 at 1:07pm EDT by AkiraTenken

Try this macro instead

/pet "Searing Light" <bt>

you probably just forgot the quotes

I read at www.summoner.info that : "...the level twenty solo battles only require level 2-3 fame. The fame level is not precise, because it varies slightly from person to person, based on unidentified factors." Dont know if this information is good but I heard this is a good website so it would explain why MaestersOfYevon and Thiefcat was able to do these battles at diferent level fame.

Edited, Aug 22nd 2006 at 10:03pm EDT by xxcathxx

The day-timers reset at Japanese midnight, which explains why you could fight Titan again so soon. You'll know when this is because the servers always calculate conquest results on the midnight between Sunday and Monday.

Edited, Aug 23rd 2006 at 3:45am EDT by Lucinus

QFT. Everyone in my main social LS, and quite possibly people in others, knows that Ramuh was my second victory. It really boosts your knowledge of the fights if you can clear the "hardest" one as early on as you can.

Incidentally, dry runs are your best friends. Do at least two to get the feel for the mechanics of the fight.

Dunno if avatars aggro item use. Wouldn't have thought so. Just to be safe, though, do all the food-y stuff at the Bend if you are planning to summon at the Crack...

is getting lots of 50% resists common with searing light? (i am going on the avatars weak day or carbys strong day) and im getting like 1 to 2 50% resists per fight with frigthening consistency.

My Current Avatar Aquisition Status:
1/2 Titan (Set a new record for beating Him on Asura... 3min 41 secs)
1/2 Shiva (Set a new record for beating Her on Asura... 3min 52 secs)
1/1 Garuda (Set a new record for beating Her on Asura... 4min 16 secs)
1/1 Ramuh (Set a new record for beating Him on Asura... 4min FLAT!)
1/1 Ifrit (Set a new record for beating Him on Asura... 4min 27 secs)
0/0 Leviathan Need Norg Fame


Edited, Nov 16th 2006 at 9:35pm PST by crashOvrd

Not recommended for everyone. I'll explain why below.

Please, don't use Banish unless you're pretty damned SURE you're going to kill the enemy. Using it can make the enemy switch targets in an instant, and this can often mean taking an enemy blood pact to the face. Since it also adds hate to your list, it can mess up your astral flow attacks.

Summoning skill is not necessary. It does absolutely NOTHING at this level. There are no equips which raise your summoning skill, thus you will notice no difference in your damage or resist rates. The recent patch only affects avatars when you have MORE summoning skill than your normal cap, and it doesn't matter what your skill is, its still likely you'll be interrupted while casting Carbuncle if you get struck by an avatar.

10) Don't be a slave to your astral flow!

Astral Flow is our most powerful ability, but it has a heavy drawback which is often overlooked in the level 20 cap battles. Bearing in mind that you are unable to rest while you have Carbuncle out its important to remember that using any Astral Flow attack will automatically drain every last drop of MP you have. Going in and popping Astral Flow from the start can be a dangerous business since it only takes a single resist to leave you completely defenseless.

Carbuncle is not merely your weapon, he is your shield. Without him standing between you and the opponent, you are going to have a rough time. And by rough, I mean you're going to die horribly.

In times like this it is also important to remember that you merely need 44mp to use your Searing Light ability during the level 20 cap fights. With this being the case, that means there is a huge portion of your total MP being wasted by using AF right off the bat (which ties in nicely to my comment about MP still being an important factor above). You have PLENTY of time to defeat the avatar, so why waste it? Use that time to whittle down your opponent's HP through carbuncle's simple melee and make things easier on yourself.

You can easily deal up to 50% damage through melee only before even touching your Astral Flow ability, which means resists are easily survivable. Trying to do it after you've wasted that 200+ mp is very difficult, and would require a lot of medicines, which makes a relatively cheap fight quite expensive. Don't forget there are 6 of these fights - save some cash for later.

'Nuff said.

Edited, Nov 22nd 2006 1:52pm by Crystan

Definetely a legitimate strategy, but the loss of barspells could hurt you a little if you get hit by a stray spell (Fire II hurts :p). Subbing Blue Mage gives you access to healing skills, which at that level are identical in power, as well as defensive spells and (importantly) Metallic Body for a Stoneskin effect. Granted these abilities are nowhere near powerful to save you from death full-time, but it will help immensely.

A SMN/BLU has just as much chance as a SMN/WHM, so if thats the sub you're comfortable with, then go for it. You won't have any more trouble than you would subbing WHM.

only change I would make is I found that + eva gear was also helpful. a miss is like nothing on earth, when trying to get carby out.
all and all great guide.